Neighbors: Dog That Fatally Mauled Queens Woman, 75, Had Killed Before
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 75-year-old Queens woman was mauled to death by a dog she recently took in but was planning to put down this week.
Louise Hermida was attacked by the dog inside her home, located at 38-07 27th St. in Long Island City, sometime after midnight on Monday.
Neighbor Rosa Ortiz said Hermida's son came to her house and pounded on her door, calling for help.
"The son came looking for me saying, 'My mother she got attacked by the dog and she's dying," Ortiz told 1010 WINS' Al Jones.
Ortiz went to the home and found Hermida unconscious at the bottom of the basement stairs.
"I saw my neighbor face down," Ortiz said. "She was full of blood, it was really bad."
Hermida had a bite wound to her torso and was rushed to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries about five hours later.
The victim's autistic 39-year-old son was also attacked, but is expected to survive. He is being treated for a bite wound on his leg at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Neighbors said the 160-pound Mastiff was a recent addition and that the family had already intended to put the dog down because it had killed a neighbor's dog two weeks ago, Jones reported.
"They switched the day, so they were going to take him this Wednesday to put him to sleep," neighbor David Lopez said.
The dog was sedated by members of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit and was taken to Animal Care and Control.
